Australian Educators and stakeholders in the construction of new schools understand that true inclusion for all learners extends beyond physical and visual access, to auditory access as well.
We understand that yesterday’s perception that it is more important to ensure all areas of a learning space are well lit, than ensuring all learners are delivered all sounds of all words. We used to build cars with an AM radio on the dashboard and a single speaker next to the glove box.
Now we know that different frequencies in spoken words fade quickly. And if you haven’t heard a word before, you can’t imagine what parts of words you have missed.
And we also know that in the same way mobile phones change all the time, so do devices supplied to learners by our Government to help with hearing loss. Different learner have different devices and they don’t all work the same way.
As part of this, Hear and Learn performed part of its HearAssist function after new Uconnect SoundHouses – with teacher and student voice capture (using our Flexmikes and Sharemikes) and even distribution of these voices and screen audio – were installed in the second stage of a refurb of Mount Gambier High School.
Teachers enjoy the tech too with one offering today “This is going to be great for my voice”.
Uconnect devices also allow connection of any transmitter – whether they use RF, Bluetooth or Induction as the means of transmission – to receivers in aids.
It’s easy to think that there must be a universal platform to transmit instructional audio to receivers in aids, but there isn’t. So it’s a thing of the past to think a hearing augmentation can be one type, or one other type or another type again – it needs to be agile and be able to adapt to new tech.
Needs to transmit by any methods and that is the foundation of UConnect products; if a visitor has a TSwitch, or a learner has a Signia device or a Phonak device or a Siemens device, no problem! Use a transmitter relevant to the schools population that Hear and Learn supplies to the school.
Job done!